How Do We Respond to the Nine Identified Features?
1. Entry into intervention services as early as possible.
CPI offers intervention to individuals as early as 18 months of age. The programming is supported by comprehensive multi-disciplinary diagnostic assessments that not only provide a thorough diagnosis, but also formulate a treatment plan, and develop family support and resources to help jumpstart intervention services.
2. Active engagement in intensive instruction for at least 23 hours a week, twelve months a year.
CPI offers a wide-variety of intensive center, community, and home-based intervention options available through year-round programming.
3. Low student / teacher ratio (no more than 2:1).
The Interdisciplinary Intervention model relies almost entirely upon a 1:1 student / teacher ratio. The highest ratio utilized within the program is 2:1, which can be found in the Small Group Interventions, when individuals have demonstrated the skills necessary to be effective learners in such a setting.
4. Systematically planned developmentally appropriate activities aimed toward identified objectives.
The Interdisciplinary Intervention model follows a detailed multi-disciplinary curriculum filled with activities designed to accommodate varying skill levels. An extensive spread of general developmental goals is targeted during each session, while specific, individualized objectives are also worked towards.
5. Repeated, planned teaching opportunities with sufficient individualized attention daily.
The Interdisciplinary Intervention model naturally combines 1:1 intervention with comprehensive curriculum that continuously provides repeated, planned learning opportunities which are an integrated component across activities and settings.
6. Inclusion of a family component.
Family support is easily accessible to all CPI families and is available in a number of different formats all of which are based upon the need identified by the family. Services such as parent training, in-home collaboration and teaching, family counseling and respite care are examples of some of the services offered. Certain levels of individualized family support, such as monthly Behavioral Consultation, are built into CPI programs at no additional cost, in acknowledgment and accordance of this best-practice element.
7. Mechanisms for ongoing program evaluation of a child’s progress, with adjustments in programming at least every three months.
The entire CPI Team meets formally on a monthly basis (Staff Development Day) to evaluate each child’s progress and challenges and implement any necessary program changes.
8. To the extent that it leads to the specified educational goals, children should receive specialized instruction in settings where ongoing interactions occur with typically developing children.
As individuals begin to develop the skills needed for positive interaction and success with typically developing peers, the focus of intervention and support of the CPI Team is slowly shifted from the highly structured 1:1 Center-based setting towards more integrated learning opportunities such as school and Community-Based programs.
9. Six types of instruction should have priority:
a. Functional, spontaneous communication (Domain One)
b. Social interaction in various settings (Domain Two)
c. Teaching of play skills focusing on appropriate use of toys and play with peers (Domain Two)
d. Instruction leading to generalization / maintenance of cognitive goals in natural context (Domain Five)
e. Positive approaches to address problem behaviors (Domain Six)
f. Functional academic skills when appropriate (Domain One)